A Nice Cuppa

Let???s get something straight from the beginning. I???m not very good at following directions. I color outside the lines. I walk ???in??? the ???out??? door. I never read the instructions when putting together anything that came in a box. Yes, Mom, apparently subconsciously I do believe the rules were made for everyone but me.

Why the rant?

Knowing that about me personally now, it should come as no surprise to you that on the following Celestial Seasoning beverage recipes I did everything exactly like they told me to???except for everything I did differently. Not only am I not good at following directions, I???m also not very good at remembering to take the grocery list to the store. I???m great at writing it, lousy at putting it in my purse. So because of that flaw in my character I???ve posted both versions of the recipes I made for my husband and I last night: theirs and mine. Let???s call them B.C. and A.D..: By Celestial Seasonings directions and After Deviations by Glenna.

The Zingertini is excellent. I really can???t say enough good things about this cocktail. The spices in the zinger tea give a satiety that lingers on the tongue and makes you feel almost like you???ve eaten a dessert rather than having had a beverage. It???s almost a tease, a cajole, and a whisper of fragrance all that the same time. I don???t think I can drink a regular raspberry martini again without remembering the Zingertini.

That leads me to my confession. This is the recipe I didn???t follow directions on and it was still fantastic. Following is the original Celestial Seasonings recipe from their web site www.celestialseasonings.com

Zinger??tini

1 Celestial Seasonings Tangerine Orange Zinger tea bag
3 ounces premium vodka
1 ounce orange liqueur
Ice
Slice of orange or tangerine

Steep one Tangerine Orange Zinger tea bag for 5 minutes in vodka. After steeping, remove tea bag and squeeze. In shaker, add ice, tea/vodka mixture, and orange liqueur, shake well. Pour into martini glass. Garnish with an orange or tangerine slice. Serve cold.

For me, here???s the rub. I forgot to pick up the Tangerine Orange Zinger tea bags at the grocery store but I really wanted a martini before dinner so I faked it with what I had stashed in the liquor cabinet and came up with an excellent martini in spite of myself.

Glenna???s Raspberry Zinger??tini

1 Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger tea bag
3 ounces premium vodka
1 ounce raspberry liqueur
Ice
Slice of Orange

Steep one Raspberry Zinger tea bag for 5 minutes in vodka. After steeping, remove tea bag and squeeze. In shaker, add ice, tea/vodka mixture, and raspberry liqueur, shake well. Pour into martini glass. Garnish with an orange slice. Serve cold.

The nice thing about the sangria recipe is that it???s designed to be non-alcoholic but you can easily add your favorite red wine if you like. I put it together both ways and found them equally enjoyable while my husband preferred the non-alcoholic version. That might or might not have been caused by the wine I used. The only bottle of red I had in the house was a hostess gift from months ago from an ex-friend with, there is no polite way to say it, extremely bad taste in general and specifically horrendous taste in wine. Let???s not discuss the fact that I was still able to enjoy it in the sangria, albeit after the snob in me disposed of the bottle and label in the bottom of the trashcan.

Sangria historically is a Spanish red wine punch using any rich red wine as the base and complimented with fruit juices. Recipes veer off into a thousand directions from those humble beginnings with the addition of brandy, cognac, spiced rum, or by using white, blush, or sparkling wines as the base.

For the Celestial Seasonings recipe, their Wild Berry Zinger tea builds a pleasing foundation.

Zinger?? Sangria

5 Wild Berry Zinger?? tea bags
2 cups boiling water
2 Tbsp. honey
2 cups cold water
2 cups apple juice
2 cups sliced fresh fruit (your choice of kiwi, oranges, strawberries, pineapples or peaches)

Pour boiling water over tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. Remove and squeeze tea bags. Add honey, stir, and then add apple juice, additional water, and sliced fruit. Serve over ice.

For a wine-based version, substitute your choice of red wine for part of the water and juice:

Glenna???s Zinger?? Sangria

5 Wild Berry Zinger?? tea bags
2 cups boiling water
2 Tbsp. honey
1 cup cold water
2 cups red wine
1 cup apple juice
2 cups sliced fresh fruit (your choice of kiwi, oranges, strawberries, pineapples or peaches)

Pour boiling water over tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. Remove and squeeze tea bags. Add honey, stir, and then add wine, apple juice, additional water, and sliced fruit. Serve over ice.

To me, the best part of using tea as the base of this sangria is that your palate gets all of the flavor without having to fight the sweet from the juice. It???s refreshing and summery without being cloying.

Ahhhh, Celestial Seasonings, you definitely had me at martini and sangria.